On December 26, 1974, he was appointed Rector of the Leningrad Academy and Seminary.

In December 1975, he was appointed a member of the WCC Central Committee and Executive Committee.

Episcopal career

In 1976, Kyrill was consecrated Bishop of Vyborg. In 1977, he became Archbishop. Since 1978, he has been the manager of the "Patriarch's parishes in Finland" (the name of the structures of the Russian Orthodox Church in Finland). In 1984, he became Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazma. The title was changed to Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad in 1989. In 1991, he became Metropolitan.

In 1974-1984 he was the Rector of the Leningrad Spiritual Academy and Seminary.

In 1971 he was appointed representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches and has been actively involved in the ecumenical activity of the Russian Orthodox Church since then. In 1978, Kyrill was appointed Deputy Chairman, and in November 1989, Chairman of the External Church Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchate and permanent member of the Holy Synod. He is known as active and efficient diplomat.

On 6th December, 2008, the day after the death of Patriarch Alexei II (1990-2008), the Holy Synod elected him Locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne.

On 9th December, 2008, during the funeral service for Patriarch Alexei II in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which was broadcast live by Russia's state TV channels, he was seen and reported to have fainted at one point.[1]

On December 29, 2008, when talking to journalists, he said he was "categorically opposed to any reforms" of a liturgical or doctrinal nature in the Church.[2]

Since 1994 Kyrill has hosted a weekly Orthodox TV program on ORT/Channel One.
Conservatives in the ROC criticized Kyrill for his ecumenical activities throughout the 1990s. However, in a recent statement Metropolitan Kyrill stated that there could be no doctrinal compromise with the Roman Catholic Church, and that discussions with them did not have the goal of seeking unification.[3]

On January 27, 2009, Kyrill was elected as Patriarch of Moscow, and was enthroned as the 16 Patriarch on Sunday February 1, 2009.